Qualifiers, ceremonies done, main draw set for Friday’s AVP Manhattan Beach Open
Beach
VBM Staff
August 19, 2022
Eight women’s and eight men’s pairs made it through the qualifier Thursday at the AVP Gold Series Manhattan Beach Open.Â
It sets up Friday’s main draw that begins at 8 a.m. Pacific. The tournament can be seen on the AVP YouTube channel.
The women’s field includes a few current NCAA standouts who advanced, including Audrey and Nicole Nourse of national-champion USC and UCLA’s Abby Van Winkle, who is playing with 39-year-old Brazilian Maria Clara Salgado.
The men’s survivors include VolleyballMag.com beach editor Travis Mewhirter and partner John-Michael Plummer and current Stanford indoors standout Will Rottman, who is playing with 40-year-old Shane Cervantes. Shane’s younger brother, Ric, also made it through with former UC Santa Barbara indoors standout Jonah Self.
Also Thursday, last year’s winners had their plaques revealed on the Manhattan Beach Pier. Olympic gold-medalists April Ross and Alix Klineman, along with this year’s No. 2 men’s seed, Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb, took part in the ceremony.
Tri Bourne holds his daughter as he and Trevor Crabb see their plaque on the Manhattan Beach Pier/AVP photo
Ross and Klineman won in 2018. Ross is now on the Pier four times, since she also won in 2014 with Kerri Walsh Jennings and in 2015 with Jen Fopma. Neither Ross nor Klineman have competed in 2021.
Crabb also won in 2019 with Reid Priddy.
“It is the biggest thing as an American beach volleyball player,†Bourne said. “I remember coming here as a kid and walking on the pier and being like ‘Wow, these are the legends of the game.’ You see Stein Metzger’s name and some of the other Hawaiian guys, and wow, I guess it just means a lot.â€
